Self-locking seal.



H. M. COOPER.

SELF LOCKING SEAL.

APPLICATION FILED lUNE 4,1915.

Patented Nov. 16, 1915.

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HARRY 1V1. COOPER; OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

SELF-LOCKING SEAL.

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Specificationof Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 116, 19115.

Application filed June 4,1915. Serial No. 32,048. 7

T0 (ZZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HARRY M. COOPER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Oak Park, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Locking Seals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to seals, and more particularly to such as may be employed as tell-tale devices adapted to show whether the articles to which they are secured have been tampered with; and in that general class it relates more particularly to such as have interlocking elements for giving the device its sealing character.

The general object of seals of this class is to show whether the car doors, vehicles, or any relatively movable or separable parts, or packages sealed thereby have been opened or tampered with.

The principal object of the present improvements is to provide a device whereby this general object is effectively attained.

A particular object is to improve the construction and eliiciency of devices of the character illustrated, whereby the seal may not be broken without at the same time so mutilating it as to render that fact obvious to the casual inspector and as to avoid the reassembling of the parts so as to present the appearance of a seal untampered with.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, I have illustrated a preferred embodimentof these improvements as applied to a seal of the character and general construction illustrated in the patent referred to.

In these drawings Figure 1 shows the device complete as when in use; Fig. 2 is a face view of the blank from which the seal is made; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of'the housing end of the seal partially bent or folded and scored; F ig; 4.- is a fragmentary perspective of the hook end of the seal; F ig. 5 is a broken medial longitudinal section of the device, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary medial section showing the hook end of the seal interlocked in the housiug end; Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the device of Fig. 5, as on the line 77 thereof in the direction of the arrows; and F 1g. is a fragmentary perspective of the interlocked ends of the seal after breaking strains have been brought to bear upon it, the parts being only partially separated. The blank 10 is ordinarily formed of thin and flexible material, suitably tin plate. The housing end has body portions 11 and 12 adapted to form side walls of the box or housing, these portions having respectively the wings or ears 11 and 12- respectively adapted to be folded'interlockingly upon each other, as well shown in Fig. 7. Before the side walls are thus locked together, how ever, the portion 13 is folded through an angle of 180 on the line ab (Fig. 2), the partially detached portion 14 is turned up substantially at right angles, and the tonguelike piece 15 is inclined away from the portion 12, as shown in Fig. 5. The portion 11 is stamped outward, as at 16, to provide a seat or pocket for the fin or projection 14, both for the purpose of holding it against lateral displacement as well as to prevent the tampering insertion of a thin blade over the top of the projection 14. The leaf or tongue-like against the pressure.

What I am designating as the hook end of the strip is provided with the longitudinal Wall 11 under its own spring slot or opening 20, preferably widened somewhat as at'20, the end portion being turned over to provide the hook 21 on the side of the strip 10 opposite'to that of 17 in the end of the box or housing. The hook end is preferably stamped with ribs, as 23, both for purposes of strength and to thicken generally this hook end at these ridges whereby when the parts are in interlocked relation, as in Fig. 6, the opening 17 is substantially filled with this hook end of the device whereby it would be quite difficult, if not impossible, to insert a blade effectively in the housing to'unhook the connections. The pr0jection'14 cooperates in this safety provision in forming an obstruction in the path of such blade and constituting a guard for the interlccked elements 15 and 21.

From the description. thus far it will be clear that when the hook end of the seal is passed into the opening 17 of the box or portion 15 normally rests.

the opening ioo after the carhas been rifled of its contents,

or other nefarious acts performed, according to the nature of thearticle sealed, the

wrongdoer may simply replace the car door or other parts as they were, position the seal as before, and insert the hook end in the opening 17of the housing as" before, no substantial if any-actual change beingmade in the appearance of the seal, and thus detection of the oifense by the usual inspection is avoided.

To rendertl is kind of device highly efiicient' and unobjectionable from the standpoint mentioned I form or modify a portion of the seal whereby it is so relatively weak that breakage 'm'ust inevitably occur at that place, and must give rise to such breakage as renders the device'incapable of further assembling as a seal or with the appearance of a seal unbroken. To this end I'preferably cut or score the wall 11, immediately contiguous to the strip part denominated 10, andon a line or lines, as at 24, extending from the open end of the housing and connected together by similar scoring or cutting,'a s at 25, thus weakening the connection between the strip portion'lO-and the housing whereby when breakage occurs a portion of the wall 11, as 11*, is actually broken or torn away from the rest of the device,as partly illustrated in Fig. 8. When so broken the outer and visible portions of the seal are so mutilated that the most casual inspection will readily reveal any attempt to conceal the breakage. The scoring or cutting, as at 24;, 25, may be done by means of a sharp stamping tool, severing the metal partially but leaving it strong enough to withstand rather severe strains. The directions and extent of such cutting or weakening may be varied. The place where so cut, however, is

weaker than the hook 21 and gives way before the hook breaks. In practice a strong pull or yank witha bale hook or rod held by the two hands is necessary to break the device.

e I have thus provided a strong seal, of simple construction, andone of very notable effectiveness in overcoming the serious disadvantages hereinabove pointed out.

In my practice a single punch-and-die machine cuts and forms the seal by a series of operations. Anyone skilled in the art of such light metal stampings will readily be able to manufacture the device according to methods now well understood.

WVhile I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of these improvements, the same are susceptible of modificajtion without departure from the spirit of the disclosure herein made, and all such changes and modifications are contemplated by' me as fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A locking seal comprising a piece of flexible material adapted to be bent loopshaped and having a box-like housing at one end thereof, said housing having an opening to receive the other end portion of the device, interlocking means within said housing and at the other end portion of the device respectively whereby when said other end portion is normally inserted through said opening and into said housing said means within the housing and at said other end portion coact to lock the twe ends of the device together, a wall of said housing directly connected to said flexible piece being relatively weak on a line extending from said housing opening on one side of said flexible piece to the housing opening at the other side thereof whereby strains insuflicient to break said interlocking means will break away a portion of said housing.

2. A locking seal comprising a piece of flexible material adapted to be bent loopshaped and having a box-like housing at one end thereof, a wall of said housing merging directly and contiguously into said flexible piece, said housing having an opening to receive the other end portion of the device, interlocking means within said housing and at the other end portion of the device respectively whereby when said other end portion is normally inserted through said opening and into said housing said means within the housing and at said other end portion coact to lock the two ends of the device together, a portion of said housing directly connected to said piece of material being relatively weak whereby strains insufiicient to break said interlocking means will break away a portion of said housing.

3. A locking seal comprising a strip of thin and flexible material having integrally formed body portions at one end, one of said body portions being adapted to be folded over the other thereof, said body portions respectively. having wings adapted to be folded upon each other whereby a housing is formed open at one end, one of said body portions merging directly and contiguously into said strip proper at said open end, said body portion so directly connected to said strip proper being weakened on a line extending from said strip proper into said body portion, interlocking means within said housing, and cooperating interlocking means at the other end of said strip proper, said locking means being such that When said other end of the strip proper is normaily inserted through the opening of said housing the two ends of the device are locked together, said weakened portion of said housing being adapted to break away When Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Comm means are brought to bear upon the device 10 When in use.

HARRY M. COOPER.

Witnesses:

T. D. BUTLER, M. M. KRIEsAND.

issioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

